Say Yes
by Q.Sekhmet
Summary: He would arrive late. He would fumble over his words and appear embarrassed. He would, more or less, emulate the clichéd epitome of an adorable idiot…and in the process, he would study her.


**Say Yes **

"_What? Go out? With me? Believe me, I'm flattered…I just don't think I can do it."_

"_Oh, never mind. This was a terrible idea. What was I thinking, asking a college student out on a date?"_

"_Don't get me wrong Ms. Misaki, I think you're a stunning woman. I've just never done this before and I would hate to leave a bad impression you-"_

"_We're both new at this. I've never actually asked a guy out before, so…just do me a favor and say yes."_

[][][]

Do me a favor and say yes. The demand had escaped her lips in clumsy haste, and he found himself reluctant to deny her.

"You're an idiot, Hei."

The contractor stared flatly into the vanity. 'I know', he wanted to say, but he was leagues away from ever verbalizing admittance. Idiot seemed like an appropriate term at the moment. He had not been thinking sensibly. It was difficult to act under routine when contemplating the steep rise of Misaki Kirihara's legs.

"Call it off! Have you lost your mind?"

He couldn't. His sensibilities had been overridden by the most primitive of instincts: attraction. Of course he was an idiot- he could have easily shunned her, hurt her, told her to fuck off and find some other boy half her age to obsess over while she mulled over her police work. He had not.

Tonight he would be Li Shengshung; the role of a college-aged male who had not even the slightest idea of how to approach a woman. He would arrive late. He would fumble over his words and appear embarrassed. He would, more or less, emulate the clichéd epitome of an adorable idiot…and in the process, he would study her.

Hei stood up, wrangled his arms into his shirt, and regarded Mao monotonously.

"I'll be back in a few hours." The confirmation rang out solemnly.

[][][]

As to be expected, Misaki Kirihara looked absolutely stunning; all woman, all legs, all femininity, and draped in a little red dress that brought out the subtle softness of her curves. The heels that she wore forced a lovely arch in her back, and for a moment Misaki appeared regal. Regal and pissed off. He'd been admiring her from a distance for quite some time. It was clear that his 'lack of punctuality' had begun to fray her nerves.

Just when she'd checked her wristwatch for the twenty-sixth time in twenty minutes, Hei clumsily flew down some stone steps and approached her.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late! I missed the seven 'o clock train and I ended up having to take the seven-fifteen." Li appeared winded but he managed an apologetic smile. "I hope you're not too angry with me."

The relief on her face was unmistakable. She shuffled on the sidewalk (his eyes jumped to her legs for an undetectable moment) and paused as if to searched for her words. "You're late!" The fierceness of her voice surprised 'Li', but not him. He jumped to punctuate the effect. "But you're here. For a moment, I thought you'd…I thought you wouldn't come." A moment of vulnerability. His eyes flattened as he studied her, but came alive again when she leveled with him.

"No, of course not! I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing, Ms. Misaki."

"Please Li, just call me Misaki. It makes me feel old." A forced laugh.

In response, Li forced an awkward laugh as well. "I'm sorry, _Misaki_." He made sure to emphasize her name this time. "You look…beautiful, by the way."

"Thank you." _Misaki _sounded breathless. "This dress actually belongs to my friend, I just borrowed it for tonight."

"Oh, really…?" He murmured with solemn admiration. The woman looked as if she was born wearing it. However, she seemed surprised by the way his voice lowered an octave, and he mentally chastised himself for letting himself slip. It was not a common occurrence. "Oh, I mean- either way, you look great. Ready to go?"

He sidled up beside her and, without hesitance, the woman slipped her arm into his.

"Almost forgot…" He plucked a small flower from the confines of his suit and delicately slipped it into the glossy folds of her hair.

"Oh!"

"Perfect." He purred. His voice was barely trumped a whisper.

"Thank you." She appeared tense; reddened, even. After a moment though, Misaki loosened up and the pair set off at an easy gait.

[][][]

The girlish feelings she was enduring were unsettling. Not since high school had she endured such a ridiculous flurry of emotion. Even then, Misaki had not found them to be so potent-she was an Officer of the Tokyo Police Department, a grown woman, and yet a foreign-exchange student was managing to make her feel like a giddy teenaged girl. It was exciting. It was discomfiting. Her fingers grazed the flower in her hair; her eyes reflexively snatched up to his. He was staring at her. They both looked embarrassed and bemused.

"Tell me about your family, Li." She forced out. "I'm sure they must miss you, you being so far away and all."

They would not reach their destination for quite some time. A little conversation certainly would not hurt, as she still wasn't feeling entirely up to par. Luckily enough, Li seemed eager to divulge her trivial soon to be slew of queries.

"My father is a fisherman. My mother operates a small business out of the family home. Naturally, they couldn't afford to send me to somewhere like Japan- I was able to pay my way here with a language scholarship. No brothers or sisters. My mother gets angry whenever I don't write her or call, me being her only child. She gets lonely."

Misaki nodded. His fluency in Japanese was undeniable. Had he not revealed that he was an exchange student, she would have assumed that he was a Japanese citizen.

"You must be brilliant, then." She teased.

He seemed embarrassed. "No- just lucky." He responded clumsily. "I'm not really sure how I managed to get that scholarship. I barely passed my exams. I have a feeling it was because no one else applied for it at the time."

"I find that hard to believe; you're so well spoken, Li. I could almost swear that you're lying to me."

Something flashed in his eyes for a second. Before she could properly discern it, he smiled.

"_Ni hen piao liang." _

"What does that mean?"

"It means," His voiced seemed to soften for a second. Unrecognizably so. For a moment, she felt as if she was looking into the eyes of another man; the flattened visage of a familiar stranger, "It means 'you are beautiful'."

[][][]

**To Be Continued**

**Disclaimer: **I'm just writing for fun. All that licensed crap doesn't belong to me. :]

**A/N:** I know not a lick of Chinese. I apologize if 'Ni hen piao liang' actually means 'you smell strongly of poop'. Feel free to correct me. Please- do not hesitate to provide constructive criticism and such. Seriously! Tell me what you don't like! I'll appreciate it.

In this very short story I will be exploring Hei and his alternative persona. It will be slightly 'AUish' but strictly 'IC'. (Or at least I'll try.) Takes place somewhere in the first season. I hope you enjoy.


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